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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24175894">Pain Brings Out the Heart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Earthsbestdefender/pseuds/Earthsbestdefender'>Earthsbestdefender</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Whump, hurt with a happy ending</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:41:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,782</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24175894</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Earthsbestdefender/pseuds/Earthsbestdefender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate ending for the season 3 finale.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>314</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Pain Brings Out the Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The train car shudders and Eddie can feel the whole thing shift and tip.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Buck, is Sam clear?” Eddie shouts trying to force calm into his voice as he scrambles for the hole in the side of the train. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This thing is coming down and Bucks words just keep ringing in his ears: </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll be crushed under a hundred tonnes of train car, and I know that’s a lot heavier than a fire truck. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He won’t get crushed, Eddie won’t let him, not this time. This year has been hell on Buck, and he’s not about to let anything happen to him. Eddie doesn’t give Buck time to respond before reaching out of the hole in the train, grabbing him by the collar and tugging him back inside the train. Part of him doesn’t even care if Sam is clear; he knows the job is to save civilians, but that doesn’t matter to him right now. Right now he’s going to save Buck. He’s not going to lose him, he’s not going to lose another person he loves. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He slices through Buck’s line with one swift jerk of his knife and Buck’s body lands on top of him as they slam into the back of one of the seats. Then the train goes down. In the terrifying seconds of free fall, before they smash into the ground, Eddie decides that if they survive this he’ll try to work up the courage to tell Buck the truth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It all happens in a matter of seconds. Sam is lowered down to waiting paramedics; the train tips; an arm reaches out and pulls Buck inside, and then the whole thing goes down filling the air with the screech of tearing metal. The silence that follows is worse than anything Bobby’s ever heard, it works its way into every muscle and bone in his body and freezes him where he stands. Everything else around him freezes around as well, like a calm before a devastating storm rolling in to destroy everything. The world stands still for a second that feels like its own eternity and then the storm hits. Before he’s even fully aware of what he’s doing, Bobby is rapidly closing the gap between him and the tipped over train car. His feet don’t even seem to be touching the ground as he runs toward it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It takes Buck a few seconds to blink the world back into focus, everything is spinning blurs. He’s not even entirely sure what just happened. One second he was hanging outside the train and the next he was being yanked inside and the whole was flipped on its side and now everything feels like he’s just been hit by a truck, or more unnervingly he feels like he did when he got slapped against the pavement after being thrown from the ladder truck. The only consolation is this time he doesn’t feel anything crushing him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eddie?” Buck wheezes and pushes himself upright a little. He can’t quite breathe, his whole chest hurts like he’s been kicked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The only answer Buck gets is a pained groan from beneath him, and he looks down in horror to discover he’s laying on top of Eddie, who isn’t moving.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eddie!” Buck cries in dismay and rolls off of him, pain flares up in his shoulder as he hits the ground and it takes everything he has to stifle a cry of pain. “Eddie?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Buck…?” Eddie moans softly but makes no attempt to move or even open his eyes. His voice is hollow with pain, but there’s a hint of relief to it too. “You okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Buck chokes, from the steady throbbing in his shoulder getting increasingly worse he’s pretty sure it’s dislocated, but that doesn’t matter right now. Even in the dim light of his flashlight he can tell Eddie’s in bad shape. His helmet is split almost in half which means it probably didn’t do much to protect his head in the fall. “Eddie, I need you to tell me what hurts.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everything,” Eddie rasps dryly and shifts slightly, pinching his face up as he does so. “You need to lose some weight…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Buck lets out a half amused snort, but it’s strained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“At least we know your sarcasm wasn’t damaged,” Buck breathes trying to sound light hearted, but even he can tell it’s forced. “Now, I need you to tell me what specifically hurts.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eddie doesn’t reply and panic grips Buck like an ice cold hand around his throat squeezing his windpipe closed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eddie! Eddie, stay with me,” Buck chokes hovering his hands mere centimeters above Eddie’s body too afraid to touch him and worsen what ever crush injuries he already has. His heart is pounding in his throat as he stares down at him; he can feel the horribly familiar wave of incapacitating dread that hit him the day the tunnel collapsed, folding over him all over again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Buck! Eddie!” Bobby’s shout echoes through the train, and Buck has never been more grateful for his captain’s presence before in his life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Over here cap!” Buck screams and finally makes himself press his fingers against Eddie’s neck. He nearly collapses with relief as his fingers find the steady beat of Eddie’s heart. “Eddie’s hurt! He needs help!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bobby reaches them in a matter of seconds with Hen and Chimney right behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Buck, you’re bleeding,” Bobby’s voice is sharp with concern as his gaze meets Buck’s.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about me… Eddie…” Buck rasps and nods toward Eddie who’s getting paler by the second.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll take care of Eddie, but you need to get checked out,” Bobby says sternly and pulls Buck away from Eddie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No!” Buck protests and tries to fight back as he pulled away from Eddie, but collapses with a sharp gasp of pain as his ribs meet Bobby’s arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ve got Eddie,” Chimney says confidently. “Get Buck out of here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No…” Buck tries to argue but no sound escapes his mouth as Bobby throws his good arm over his shoulder and begins half guiding half dragging him toward the exit of the train.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Bobby stop,” Buck pleads desperately as Bobby guides him out of the capsized train car. “I need to be with Eddie…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s going to be fine, Buck,” Bobby promises as he eases Buck back onto a waiting stretcher, but he can only pray it’s true. There was more blood on the floor of that train car than there should’ve been and from the look of the crack in Eddie’s helmet, he’ll be lucky to make it through this without serious brain damage.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bobby, I never told him,” Buck chokes and tries to get back up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Buck, you need to lay back,” Bobby soothes and pushes Buck again. He himself is tempted to turn around and run back into the train car. He wants to go back in and be there with Chimney, Hen, and Eddie, but Buck needs him out here. “Eddie will be okay-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was gonna tell him,” Buck sobs and leans his head into Bobby’s side. “The well collapse happened and I was going to tell him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Buck,” Bobby says gently and carefully pulls the helmet off Buck’s head. He doesn’t need Buck to say it out loud to know what he’s talking about. He’s pretty sure the entire station knows it. “Everything’s going to be okay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need him, Bobby,” Buck practically wails, the only other time Bobby has ever heard something quite like it was when Buck was screaming desperately for Eddie while frantically digging in the mud after the well had collapsed. “I love him…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bobby wishes he could offer Buck more comfort than just his hopeful promises that everything will be okay. There’s so much fear and panic in Buck's blue eyes, and it hurts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We need to get him to the hospital,” one of the waiting paramedics says to Bobby, who only barely manages a nod as he keeps his gaze locked with Buck’s. He has tears streaming down his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to ride with you,” Bobby says decidedly. He knows he should be staying behind, but Buck needs someone with him, and there’s no one else around to go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Buck passes out about halfway to the hospital from a mix of exhaustion and whatever painkillers the paramedics put him on. Bobby keeps the kid’s hand in his the rest of the ride to his hospital. Everything happens quickly and before he knows it, Bobby is once again standing on the wrong side of the hospital doors.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>“We really should’ve made Athena take a picture with us,” Buck jokes from where’s standing next to Eddie, watching Chris get on the bus to go to summer camp. “We could’ve been the arm sling gang.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eddie smiles and shakes his head in amusement. “Or maybe the good luck gang.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s true, they’d all gotten lucky. By some miracle, Eddie had made it out of the crash with only cracked ribs, a broken collar bone, and a concussion, Buck himself had made it out with a few less broken ribs, and a minor concussion, and dislocated shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Buck muses and waves with Eddie as the bus pulls out of the parking lot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eddie clears his throat and makes a failed attempt to casually wipe his eyes with the back of his hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you gonna be okay?” Buck asks, nudging him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Eddie chokes. “It’s just gonna be so quiet with him gone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It doesn’t have to be,” Buck says and gently pats Eddie on the back. “I’m sure I can find some trouble for us to get into.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Eddie scoffs, but his tone is amused and happy. “Because we need more trouble to get into. I think train crashes and broken bones is enough trouble for the next 10 years.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, hey, thanks for pulling me back in by the way,” Buck says allowing himself to get serious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eddie looks up at him with deep brown caring eyes and smiles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No one else was gonna save your sorry ass,” he replies and his voice is thick with affection.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Buck swallows the lump that’s been creeping up his throat. He still hasn’t told him. It always seems so simple when it’s in the heat of the moment when there’s fear and adrenaline, but something about the quiet and the calm makes things almost impossible and terrifying in a unique way. But despite the uncertainty, Buck finds himself leaning in, and he’s not sure if he imagined it, but he’s pretty sure Eddie did too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eddie I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And before Buck can do anything else, Eddie grabs him by the collar and kisses him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope everyone liked this. I've written next to no Buddie and I honestly feel like this was low key trash lmao.</p>
<p>Questions? Comments (please)? Concerns?</p></blockquote></div></div>
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